Acouple of years ago, I received an e-mail from a person who claimed to be a publisher. He’d heard me speak at a conference and wanted to know if I’d be interested in writing a book. My first thought was that this was a practical joke; after
all, real writers work hard all their lives for such an opportunity, and here it was, unsolicited, knocking on my door. The eventual result of this conversation was my first book,
Forex Patterns and Probabilities (John Wiley & Sons, 2007), one of the most popular
books written to date on the subject of currency trading.
As I write now nearly three years after the first book’s release, “FPAP” is still going
strong and so are sales of the FXEducator DVDs, and I am constantly amazed at the
reaction they have received. The book’s success is even more incredible because unlike
many of the other titles on the subject of Forex, there are no market makers or Forex
brokers pushing it to their clients. I credit the success of “FPAP” to word of mouth:
People love the book and tell their friends, who also love it. I have received many e-mails
and letters from readers expressing their appreciation for “FPAP,” and I just want to
humbly and sincerely thank all of you for your kind support.
I’ve always thought of trading as a sport, and like many of my readers, I’ve played
on amateur sports teams (my favorites are baseball, American football, and ice hockey)
and I’m a sports fan. I’m sure many of you have noted the similarities between sports and
trading, and it does seem that many traders are former athletes or at least athletically
inclined.
One of the main differences between sports and trading is that most of us do not
have a trading “coach.” Trading is often a solitary occupation, and there is no designated
person to lead us through the wilderness and on to victory.
This book is organized into five parts: Part I, “Training Camp,” contains basic but
vital information to lay the groundwork for your success. The next part, “Scoring Points,”
delves into more advanced trading concepts. Then Part III, “Winning the Championship,”
deals with specific techniques that will give your trading an edge. Part IV, “Commitment
to Excellence,” presents more advanced money-making trading concepts, and in the final
section, “Staying in Shape,” the reader learns which situations to avoid in order to enjoy
a long and successful trading career.
Preface xv
PART I Training Camp 1
CHAPTER 1 We Practice Like We Play 3
A Series of Habits 4
Rules to Live By 5
From the Minors to the Majors 5
Money on My Mind 7
CHAPTER 2 The Playing Field 9
Two of a Kind 9
The Manager 11
Under My Thumb 11
The Coaching Staff 12
A Team without a Manager 13
Other Notable Currencies 13
Commonly Traded Currency Pairs 13
Other Notable Currency Pairs 13
Who Decides? 13
Method to the Madness 15
Spot and Futures Markets 16
Let’s Get Physical 16
Continual Linked Settlement 16
CHAPTER 3 Calculations and Standardizations 19
Lot Size 19
Pip Value 20
Pip Calculation 21
First Currency = 1 21
Position: Long, Short, or Flat 22
Long One, Short the Other 23
The Chart Tracks the Base Currency 24
Margin Requirements 25
Leverage 26
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